Electrical deadline looms for landlords

Iain Russell

Within days landlords will be required to conduct five-yearly electrical checks of the fixed wiring and any electrical appliances in privately rented homes.

From December 1, these checks must be conducted by appropriately skilled professionals who are qualified to meet this requirement.

For the next two weeks, SELECT - the trade body for Scotland’s electrical sector - will be advising of the changes and directing landlords to its new website - needanelectrician

Alan Wilson, head of membership and communications at SELECT, said: “The issue of electrical safety has been an important topic for landlords since Scottish Government statistics have shown that 69 per cent of all accidental fires in Scottish homes are caused by electricity.

“We are very keen to stress that, as well as landlords protecting themselves by becoming compliant with the new legislation, tenants should be aware that they should ask for a copy of the electrical safety check as soon as it is done.”

The recently amended Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 includes statutory guidance on electrical installations and appliances in private rented property to ensure that a rented house meets the “Repairing Standard” at the start of and throughout any tenancy.

This includes a requirement for landlords to ensure that the installations in the house for the supply of electricity, the electrical fixtures and fittings and any appliances provided by the landlord under the tenancy are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order.

SELECT has more than 1200 member businesses which operate all across Scotland. The vast majority of its members can carry out the work required under the new legislation.

*To help promote the changes to the new legislation, SELECT will run a series of radio adverts across the Scottish independent radio network, stations such as Radios Forth, Tay and Clyde, and undertake advertising via Pay Per Click on Google and run a competition for landlords via its Twitter feed to alert landlords and tenants to the important looming deadline.